Revista de Socialómica

Abstracto

School bullying

Saad Omar Al

Objectives: To stress the importance of this phenomenon & its prevalence and its consequence and possible measure to prevent it or at least minimize its effect aiming to improve the psychosocial health of our future generation. 

Method: I reviewed all published data about this topic in the English language in the last ten years both in Saudi Arabia and other countries both in pub med or another related research site. In 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Department of Education released the first USA federal uniform definition of bullying for research and surveillance. The core elements of the definition include unwanted aggressive behavior; observed or perceived power imbalance; and repetition of behaviors or high likelihood of repetition. There are many different modes and types of bullying. The current definition acknowledges two modes and four types by which youth can be bullied or can bully others. Electronic bullying or Cyberbullying involves electronic attacks that lead to the modification, dissemination, damage, or destruction of a youth’s privately stored electronic information. Some bullying actions can fall into criminal categories, such as harassment, hazing, or assault. 

Prevalence: There is growing awareness of the problem of bullying, which may lead some to believe that bullying is increasing. However, studies suggest that rates of bullying may be declining. It remains a prevalent and serious problem in today’s schools. Bullying is apparently prevalent in KSA, as is the case in other parts of the world, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), bullying has only been addressed very recently. Some large-scale epidemiological studies have been conducted in recent years and have provided national estimates for the prevalence of bullying. Deluna, a national study addressing the health needs of adolescents in the KSA, found that 25% of students had reported being exposed to bullying within the past one month preceding the study. Males were more likely to engage in bullying compared to females (27.1% versus 22.7%). A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted on a group of 542 clinical years' medical students in a Saudi medical school to explore students' perceptions of their educational environment including exposure to different kinds of bullying.

Results: Revealed that more than one quarter (28.0%) of the surveyed students reported exposure to some sort of bullying during their clinical. 90% percent of the reported insults were verbal, 6% sexual and 4% physical. Males were more exposed but the difference was not statistically significant. Young people who are perceived as different from their peers are often at risk for being bullied. Bullying affects all youth, including those who are bullied, those who bully others, and those who see bullying going on. Youth who bully can be either well connected socially or marginalized and may be bullied by others as well. Similarly, those who are bullied sometimes bully others. Youth who both bully others and are bullied are at the greatest risk for subsequent behavioral, mental health, and academic problems. 

Conclusion: It was found that 21.5% of adults in KSA reported exposure to peer violence during their childhood, with males reporting this more often than females (28.2% versus 14.7%). And preventative measures will be highlighted including, the first anti-bullying campaign In KSA conducted by the National Family Safety Program (NFSP) in 2011.